Is AI limitless?

Date

Nov 25, 2025

Time

09:30 AM - 06:15 PM

Open for Public

Yes

Language

French & English

Venue

SUAD Campus

Description

This conference aims to examine the question of the limits of AI from two different and complementary angles; that of the philosophy of Al and that of the ethics of Al. These approaches examine both aspects of the question, ontological and normative: can Al really be limitless? Should Al be limitless?

Philosophy of Al

Can artificial intelligence become intelligent? or sentient? Recent developments in Al are raising with new acuity questions that have been at the heart of the philosophy of Al for decades. This first part of the conference will focus on the question of whether the current state of Al and its plausible prospects for evolution are likely to reshuffle the cards in the controversies that are at the heart of the philosophy of Al.

Is Al doomed to remain eternally weak, particularly because of its “semantic blindness”, in the sense of the distinction between weak Al and strong Al made in the 1980s by the philosopher John Searle? Is “strong Al”, which would pierce the wall of semantic blindness and even manage to become conscious or at least “sentient”, and endowed with intentions and emotions, impossible in principle?

The first part of the conference will focus on the current state of this controversy in the philosophy of Al.

Ethics of AI

AI promises to enhance human life by improving the efficiency and accuracy of critical domains such as medicine, transportation, education, and environmental sustainability. Yet, AI systems are not infallible: as human-designed tools, they inherit human limitations and biases. How, then, can we assign moral responsibility for AI’s decisions and mistakes? Given the diversity of ethical theories (consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics…), which moral frameworks should guide AI design, and how to navigate conflicts between competing norms?

In particular, the conference will focus on two applications of these normative issues. The first is the relation between AI and Law. Algorithms capable of processing huge amounts of data have enabled the "digitalization of law". This has led to intelligent systems for predictive justice and legal information management. However, as Al becomes increasingly integrated into the legal system, how can the preservation of fundamental legal values be guaranteed? These fundamental values include equal treatment before the law, public, impartial and independent settlement of legal disputes, justification and explanation of legal decisions, the possibility of appealing against decisions, procedural fairness and due process, and transparency in legal processes. Another application is to be found in the field of military Al.

Swarms of drones, algorithms, intelligence: artificial intelligence is increasingly changing the game in war. Is the use of Al on the battlefield leading to a radical upheaval in the art of war? Is it ushering us into the era of hyperwar? The exponential progress of military Al is indeed raising a number of questions, both about the risk of humans losing control of military operations and, paradoxically, about the possibility of reliably developing an ethical military Al capable of autonomously assessing the military necessity of an action, distinguishing between civilians and combatants, and implementing the principle of proportionality that is at the heart of the ethics of war.

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